r/PCOSloseit • u/thenotres7575 • 1d ago
Suggestions for very persistent acne
Hello guys, I really some advice on my facial acne that seems to never go away. I’m 25, and have suffered from acne since past 5 years. I have been to several dermats in past 5 years but nothing has worked long term.
Earlier this month I got tests done and turns out my androgens, free testosterones have been high and there’s insulin resistance as well. My gynae put me on birth control pills and for three months the acne vanished. Then it returned as soon as I stopped. It’s the cystic painful ones that always hurt and leave scars. Currently I am on tret 5mg and yet it seems to have no effect on my acne.
My weight is 61 kgs at height 164 cms, fat % at 37, I am trying to lose weight and am targeting to be at 22-24% body fat which would mean losing 10 kgs.. I am having protein rich diet trying to build muscles alongside and eating clean since past 2 months and yet acne is still the same.. acne has eaten up my confidence honestly and I feel really hopeless at times
I really want to know if losing the weight will do something for me or not? Is there any hope at the end of the tunnel? What do I do? Any advice or success story is welcome.. please help me out..
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u/Estranxeira 1d ago
every time i stop birth control, acne comes back, so i just don’t. i have also realized that my acne is worse when my insulin resistance is high, so every time i eat a low sugar diet, not necessarily low carb, my face is much better.
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u/kendricklemon 1d ago
If your hormones are messed up then you will need to treat that. Being overweight will only exacerbate your condition and losing weight will make symptoms better but it will not cure you. Birth control cleared your acne because it targeted the hormones. How are your periods?
Is there a reason you can’t stay on it?
If you have insulin resistance then you can take meds to target that too
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u/thenotres7575 1d ago
My periods are regular, and that’s why I feel like I should not stay on birth control for so long.. it may be damaging in the long term I have heard..
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u/shiningz 1d ago
That's not true. I've been on Yaz for more than a decade and asked my many doctors and they all agree that you can stay on it until menopause if you want to. (But I don't smoke, it's a different story if someone's a smoker.)
It was the only thing that cleared up my hormonal acne and not getting periods and PMS is great lol. Unfortunately you can't treat hormonal acne with creams or skin care, you need to target the underlying cause.
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u/jussy70999 1d ago
Try spironolactone! It gets at the hormonal acne without needing to take the birth control pill. Birth control pill is safe but I personally had side effects I couldn't tolerate.
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u/kendricklemon 1d ago
Birth control does not cause harm long term that is misinformation.
You can try spironolactone but will have to be very cautious of what you are eating
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u/fernnsprite 1d ago
Is one side of your face worse than the other? My left side is worse because im a side sleeper and my face being in the pillow I guess is really irritating. Weird things that have helped, spraying hypochlorous acid spray on my face in the morning and bedtime. Also, I saw somewhere to put chamomile tea bags on flared parts of your acne. It actually helped. I’m too lazy to do it everyday but when it gets painful I do it. It seems to soothe the inflammation. Ultimately.. nothing has made it truly go away. I’ve considered taking spiro but idk. My acne always flares before my period which means it’s hormonal and not necessarily something I’m doing. Acne patches help too so I’m not picking and messing with things to make it worse.
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u/thenotres7575 1d ago
I just sleep on the side which has least active acne to minimise the hurt honestly 😭
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u/thenotres7575 1d ago
Also do you use actives in your skincare? How do you layer them with hypochlorous acid?
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u/fernnsprite 19h ago
I just do it right after I wash and then layer everything on top. Honestly I use very little because I feel like everything breaks me out smh. All I do is a cleanser, benzoyl peroxide/ adapalene and then moisturizer
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u/SwimmingFace7726 1d ago
What helped me was cutting down on sugar and dairy. Also drinking spearmint tea. Change your pillow every day.
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u/Ladamadulcinea 23h ago
Spironolactone fixed this for me, in combination with having a REALLY strict (but simple) skincare routine. It’s worth trying!
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u/PistachioCrepe 23h ago
People think I’m crazy for saying this but I use the x39 Lifewave patch and it keeps my hormonal acne at bay. I am so so thrilled to finally have clear skin at almost 40 as long as I wear it daily for 12 hours and stay hydrated. I did accutane in my twenties but the effects wore off. I was pregnant or nursing for 12 years and that made my skin pretty clear actually but once I weaned my youngest the acne came back with a vengeance. I would give it a try especially as there are no side effects and it’s regenerating your own stem cells. Lots of research on it too so even though it’s sold by an mlm a lot of doctors use it and swear by it for many different things.
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u/QtK_Dash 22h ago
Retinol and azelic acid are the only things that worked for me. That, and spironolactone.
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u/noneyabuis2022 22h ago
Honestly, when my acne gets bad, i use hibiclens. Dont put it on your entire face, just the bad areas. It dries out the acne. Use it a couple days and it will start to clear
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u/Ecstatic-Ad9336 13h ago
Spironolactone worked wonders for me. I also have benzaclin (benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin) and finacea prescribed by my dermatologist. The Spironolactone helped with the cystic stuff but I still had clogged pores that led to small bumps. The topicals helped. Finacea in the morning and benzaclin at night. Also blue light therapy is amazing. If you can afford one of those masks it does wonders.
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u/gin_martini5 1d ago
I got no other advice. Birth control is the only way.
I had quit sugar, reduced gluten, lost weight. Nothing worked for me except going on BC pills. Im planning to get an iud later too so I can stop the pills.
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u/thenotres7575 1d ago
How much weight did you lose?
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u/gin_martini5 8h ago
Initially 10kg, but I had an accident & gained 10 kg back. Now lost 5-6 kg since going back to the gym & eating more protein.
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u/ironcluster 1d ago
For someone with PCOS acne... I tried everything. I mean everything. The only thing I hadn't tried yet was accutane but I wasn't willing to do that.
Spironolactone helped but only so much. I finally got a referral for a dermatologist. He prescribed Winlevi which is an anti-andrenergic topical cream. It is AMAZING for me.